Knit undergarment



(No Specimens.)

' J. H. PIKE.

KNIT UNDERGARMENT.

No. 482,097. Patented Septp, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH H. PIKE, OF JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS.

KNIT UNDERGARIVI ENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,09*?,datedgseptember 6, 1892.

` Application filed May 2l, 1892. Serial No. 433,817. (No model.)

To all whom i5 may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. PIKE, of Jacksonvi1le,in the county of Morgan and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knit Undergarments; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked'thereon` which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in knit undergarments for ladies wear of that kind which is made of flexible knit or ribbed fabric, such as is produced upon single-thread knitting machines such, for instance, as those known as the Lamb machines-and more particularly to the construction of the breast-pockets of such garments, the invention being applicable both to shirts'and to combination garments or combined shirts and drawers.

In the manufacture of knit garments of the kind referred to the garments are usually formed of pieces or sections of knitted fabric extending continuously from top to bottom of the garment, such section being widened and narrowed to give suitable shape to the garment and united by seams at the side of the garment and sometimes, also, along the middle of the back. In some instances the necessary fullness at the breast part of the garment has been given by widening one or both edges of the parts constituting the front of the garment.. This construction, however, does not secure desirable results either in the appearance or fit of the garment, it being obvious that in this construction the added width will either come at the side of the seam beneath the arm or at the front edge of the garment, and therefore at a point remote from the place where the fullness is most needed. It has also been common heretofore to insert separate gores or filling pieces tapered at their upper and lower ends in Vertical slits left in the main4 parts of the garment at the time of knitting the same; but this construction, while making the breastpockets of the desired form and in the desired location, has the disadvantage of producing two seams which not only detract from the appearance of the garment, but by reason of l the fact thatthey are relatively inelastic detract from the elasticity of the fabric in the front of the garment, and therebyprevent the parts of the garment from fitting as smoothly and uniformly as they otherwise would. rIhe insertion of such added pieces, furthermore, increases considerably the labor of man ufacturing the garment.

' In a garment constructed in accordance with my invention the body of the garmentis knitin one piece above and below the breastpockets and a breast-pocket is formed by leaving a vertical slit or opening at the time of knitting the garment and widening the part of the garment at one side of said vertical slit, so as to form a flap or projection having a convex edge, which is afterward joined to the opposite or straight edge ofthe slit, so that the finished garment exhibits only a single curved seam extending from top to bottom of each breast-pocket at one side of the latter. In a garment thus made the lateral elasticity of the fabric in the body of the garmentis fully preserved, while at the same time the garment presents a neat appearance, may be easily and cheaply made, and the seam when the garment is on the person of the wearer is located at one sidev of the protuberant part of the breast, so that it interferes in no way with the iit of the garment, it being of course obvious that the presence of a vertical seam extending over or through the central part of the breast-pocket would be objectionable because it would form an inelastic line or cord across the part where the greatest fullness is required, which, when the fabric is tightly drawn or stretched across the fullest part of the bosom,would press into the same and make a mark or crease. The seam, made of curved form and extending at one side of the breastpocket, is obviously so located that it cannot be drawn tightly against the flesh, and is therefore entirely unobjectionable.

As compared with the prior construction in which a separate piece is inserted to form the breast-pocket, it will be noted in such prior construction the seam, which completely surrounds the inserted piece, will necessarily take away from the elasticity of the knit fabric, so as to prevent the latter from stretching freely at the top and bottom of the breastpocket, while my construction leaves the fab# ric with its full elasticity and capacity for lateral expansion at these points.

The invention may be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l shows my invention as applied to acombination garment, the same being shown on the figure of the wearer. Fig. 2 shows the garment with the breast-pockets folded as the garment is packed for transportation. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the arrangement of the ribs or stitches adjacent to the seam which forms the breast-pocket. v

As shown in the drawings, A A indicate the sides or halves constituting the front of the garment and which, in the particular instance shown, are united to the back partof the garment by seams A A beneath the arms and seams A? A2 along the shoulders. Each side A is made or knitted continuously or in a single piece from the shoulder-seam A2 downwardly to the bottom of the garment. In some instances, however, the back and front parts of the garment will be continuous with each other and there will be no seam in the shoulder. Each side or half of the garment is provided with abreast-pocket B, at one side of which is a curved seam C. The upper endo of saidseam is located above the breast-pocket and its lower end c below the same, while its centerpart is outwardly or laterally curved to pass at one side of the breast-pocket. The said seam C is parallel with the ribs or rows of stitches a a, at one side thereof; but at the other side thereof the body of the garment is provided with added rows or ribs o. a of stitches forming a flap or extension B', having curved edges formed by adding and dropping stitches in the operation of knitting, as common in shaping or fashioning knit garments. By reason `of the curved form of the flap or extension formed by the added ribs or rows of stitches a. a the latter intersect the seam C obliquely at their upper and lower ends in the manner illustrated. The method of knitting the sides or halves of the garment thus constructed will be obvious to any one familiar with the art and who understands the novel construction proposedthat is to say, each half A will beknitin one piece until one end of the seam C is reached, when the part at one side of the seam will be taken 0E on a comb and the knitting of the other part continued until the opposite end of the seam is reached. The knitting of the discontinued end of the fabric willthen be resumed to complete the same at the opposite side of the seam, and when the parts of the seam are both of the same length the knitting will be resumed throughout the entire width of the fabric. The widening by the addition of additional rows of stitches a' a in the particu lar construction shown is effected on that side of the seam adjacent to the front edge of the garment, so that the seamv in the nished garment is outwardly deiected and comes adjacent to or beneath the arm of the wearer.

As hereinbefore stated, the presence of the lateral projection or ap B', formed by the added rows of stitches a a', gives the desired fullness and the proper shape to the breastpockets B B, while the single seam C, extending at one side of the breast-pooket, does not materially lessen the elasticity of the fabric either horizontally or vertically, so that the garment may smoothly and closely tit the figure and perfectly accommodate itself to the size and form of the wearer. Moreover, inasmuch as the seam thus arranged extends at one side of the breast-pocket it cornes at a place where it cannot be drawn or pressed into the flesh when the garment is drawn tightly' over the figure.

I claim as my inventionl A garment of elastic or ribbed knit goods, containing a breast-pocket formed by means of ribs or rows of stitches a a', added to the fabric at one side of a vertical seam Ctherein and forming a lateral extension or flap B', the margin of which is secured to the adjacent part of the garment by said seam, the fabric forming the garment being continuous above and below said seam, substantially as described. p

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH H. PIKE.

Vitnesses:

SOPHIE C. CARLTON, M. DONAHUE. 

